www.meade.
WARNING! Never use a Meade® Telescope to look at the Sun! Looking at or near the Sun will cause instant and irreversible damage to your eye. Eye damage is often painless, so there is no warning to the observer that damage has occurred until it is too late. Do not point the telescope at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope or viewfinder as it is moving. Children should always have adult supervision while observing.
INTRODUCTION Your telescope is an excellent beginner’s instrument, and is designed to observe objects in the sky. It can be your personal window to the universe allowing you to see bright galaxies, planets, stars and more. The telescope is shipped with the following parts: • Optical tube • German equatorial mount • Stainless-steel tripod with accessory tray • Three 1.25” eyepieces: MA25mm, MA9mm, MA6.
2 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. FIGURE 1A Tripod legs Large Equatorial Mount Right Ascension control cable Declination control cable Counterweight(s) Counterweight shaft Counterweight lock knobs Counterweight safety knob Latitude adjustment lock (see Fig. 3) Polar axis (see Fig. 3) Latitude adjustment knob Main optical tube (OTA) Optical tube saddle plate (see Fig.
FIGURE 1B 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. Tripod legs Small Equatorial Mount Right Ascension control cable Declination control cable Counterweight(s) Counterweight shaft Counterweight lock knobs Counterweight safety knob Latitude adjustment lock (not visible) Polar axis (see Fig. 3) Latitude adjustment knob Main optical tube (OTA) Optical tube saddle plate (see Fig.
Fig. 2 4 SETUP YOUR TRIPOD The tripod is the basic support for your telescope. Its height may be adjusted so that you can view comfortably. Note: Number in brackets, e.g., (3), refer to Fig. 1A and 1B unless noted otherwise. The tripod is shipped from the factory pre-assembled and needs only the mount and accessory tray attached. 1.Spread the tripod legs out evenly apart. 2. Set the height of your tripod: a. Rotate and loosen the tripod leg lock thumbscrew (36) to unlock the sliding leg extension (37).
PREPARE THE MOUNT 1. Attach the flexible cables (3) and (4). These cables are secured in place with a firm tightening of the thumbscrews located at the attachment ends of each cable. 2. Tilt the polar axis of the telescope to roughly a 45° angle with the horizon: Loosen the latitude adjustment lock (9) so you can move the mount to the desired position. 3. Turn the latitude adjusting screw (11) clockwise until the latitude scale (29) on the side of the mount reads approximately 45°. 4.
locking screw (16, Fig 5). Fig. 4 6 Fig. 5 SUN WARNING! NEVER USE YOUR TELESCOPE TO LOOK AT THE SUN! LOOKING AT OR NEAR THE SUN WILL CAUSE INSTANT AND IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE TO YOUR EYE. EYE DAMAGE IS OFTEN PAINLESS, SO THERE IS NO WARNING TO THE OBSERVER THAT DAMAGE HAS OCCURRED UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE. DO NOT POINT THE TELESCOPE OR ITS VIEWFINDER AT OR NEAR THE SUN. DO NOT LOOK THROUGH THE TELESCOPE OR ITS VIEWFINDER AS IT IS MOVING. CHILDREN SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE ADULT SUPERVISION WHILE OBSERVING.
lock knob (7) before rotating the RA axis to prevent the counterweight from sliding unexpectedly. When the telescope is balanced, proceed to aligning the red dot viewfinder. ALIGN THE RED DOT VIEWFINDER object, such as the Moon or a bright star, and use the viewfinder’s alignment screws to make any necessary refinements. 5. When finished, turn off the red dot viewfinder by rotating the on/off switch(20) counter-clockwise. Fig. 6 2. Turn on the red dot viewfinder by turning the on/off switch(20) clockwise.
Earth. This mapping system is similar to the system of latitude and longitude on Earth surface maps. and longitude on the celestial sphere. These lines are known as Right Ascension and Declination. In mapping the surface of the Earth, lines of longitude are drawn between the North and South Poles and lines of latitude are drawn in an East-West direction, parallel to the Earth’s equator.
constellations of Orion, Virgo, and Aquarius) is said to have a Declination of zero, shown as 0° 0’ 0”. All celestial objects therefore may be located with their celestial coordinates of Right Ascension and Declination. LINING UP WITH THE CELESTIAL POLE Objects in the sky appear to revolve around the celestial pole. (Actually, celestial objects are essentially “fixed” and their apparent motion is caused by Earth’s rotation).
10 is centered in the telescope’s red dot viewfinder. Then center it in the MA25mm eyepiece. Next, re-tighten the latitude lock. 4. If the above steps (1-3) were performed with reasonable accuracy, your telescope is now sufficiently well-aligned to the North Celestial Pole for visual observations. You will enjoy your telescope even more as you learn more about it. But don’t be scared off by difficult terms or complicated procedures. Don’t panic! Just relax and enjoy your scope.
locate an object using the red dot viewfinder rather than locating with the eyepiece. Line up the object using the viewfinders red dot. move the telescope. These can come in very handy, especially when you wish to move the telescope in very small (fine control) steps. Look through the eyepiece: Once you have the object lined up in the viewfinder, look through the optical tube’s eyepiece. If you have aligned your viewfinder, you will you see the object in your eyepiece.
circular pattern around our Sun. Any system of planets orbiting one or more 12 stars is called a solar system. Our Sun, by the way, is a single, yellow dwarf star. It is average as far as stars go and is a middle aged star. Beyond the planets are clouds of comets, icy planetoids and other debris left over from the birth of our sun. Recently astronomers have found large objects in this area and they may increase the number of planets in our solar system.
you may not see many features on the surface of Saturn, its ring structure will steal your breath away. You will probably be able to see a black opening in the rings, known as the Cassini band. Saturn is not the only planet that has rings, but it is the only set of rings that can be seen with a small telescope. Jupiter’s rings cannot be seen from Earth at all—the Voyager spacecraft discovered the ring after it passed Jupiter and looked back at it.
When you become an advanced observer you can look for other 14 types of objects such as asteroids, planetary nebula and globular clusters. And if you’re lucky, every so often a bright comet appears in the sky, presenting an unforgettable sight. The more you learn about objects in the sky, the more you will learn to appreciate the sights you see in your telescope. Start a notebook and write down the observations you make each night. Note the time and the date.
movement is caused by the rotation of the Earth and makes an object move through the telescope’s field of view. To keep astronomical objects centered in the field, simply move the telescope on one or both of its axes—vertically and/or horizontally as needed—try using the telescopes coarse and fine adjustment controls. At higher powers, astronomical objects will seem to move through the field of view of the eyepiece more rapidly.
16 high a power eyepiece is one of the most common mistakes made by new astronomers. Dress Warm: Even on summer nights, the air can feel cool or cold as the night wears on. It is important to dress warm or to have a sweater, jacket, gloves, etc., nearby. Know your observing site: If possible, know the location where you will be observing. Pay attention to holes in the ground and other obstacles. Is it a location where wild animals, such as skunks, snakes, etc.
POLARIS 127 Optical tube design……..................….Reflector Optical tube focal length…..................1000mm Primary mirror diameter…............127mm (5.0”) Focal ratio…………...................…….....….f/7.9 Mount…….............…Large German Equatorial POLARIS 130 Optical tube design……..................….Reflector Optical tube focal length..........................650mm Primary mirror diameter…..............130mm (5.1”) Focal ratio…………….............................…….f/5 Mount…………........
objects 100 times. You can calculate how much magnification an eyepiece will have with your specific telescope. Just divide the telescope focal length by the focal length of the eyepiece. 18 Focal Length of the Telescope ÷ Focal Length of the Eyepiece = Magnification Look at the specifications. For example, you will see that the focal length of the Polaris 90 is 900mm. Let’s say that you have obtained a 6.3mm eyepiece.
Fig. 13 3 Fig. 14 2 2 3 3 2 4 4 5 5 Correct Collimation 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 Fig. 15 3 2 2 2 3 Mirror Misalignment Secondary 4 2 5 1 Primary Mirror Cell tissues or damage could result to the optics. DO NOT use a commercial photographic lens cleaner. 2 4 3 4 4 COLLIMATION (ALIGNMENT) OF OPTICS (REFLECTING MODELS ONLY) All Meade Polaris Reflecting telescopes are optically aligned at the factory prior to shipment.
To inspect the view of the mirror collimation, look down the focuser draw 20 tube with the eyepiece removed. The edge of the focuser drawtube (1, Fig. 14), will frame the reflections of the primary mirror with the 3 mirror clips (2, Fig. 14), the secondary mirror (3, Fig. 14), the spider vanes (4, Fig. 14), and your eye (5, Fig. 14). Properly aligned, all of these reflections will appear concentric (i.e., centered) as illustrated in Fig. 14.
grasping the secondary holder with your hand, tilt the secondary mirror holder until you see the primary mirror become as centered in the reflection of the diagonal mirror as possible. Once you are at the best position, thread in the 3 Phillips-head secondary mirror collimation screws to lock the holder in place.
17B. •As you make adjustments to the 22 primary mirror tilt screws (3, Fig. 13), you will notice that the out-of-focus star disk image will move across the eyepiece field. Choose one of the 3 primary mirror tilt screws and slightly move the shadow to the center of the disk. Then slightly move the telescope using the flexible cable controls to center the star disk image in the center of the eyepiece.
MEADE CONSUMER SOLUTIONS If you have a question concerning your telescope, call Meade Instruments Consumer Solutions Department at (800) 626-3233. Consumer Solutions Department hours are 7:00AM to 5:00PM, Pacific Time, Monday through Friday. Call the Meade Consumer Solutions Department first, before returning the telescope to the factory, giving full particulars as to the nature of the problem, as well as your name, address, and daytime telephone number.
OBSERVATION LOG OBSERVER: OBJECT NAME: DATE & TIME OBSERVED: CONSTELLATION: EYEPIECE SIZE: SEEING CONDITIONS: EXCELLENT GOOD POOR NOTES: DRAWING OF IMAGE
OBSERVATION LOG OBSERVER: OBJECT NAME: DATE & TIME OBSERVED: CONSTELLATION: EYEPIECE SIZE: SEEING CONDITIONS: EXCELLENT GOOD POOR NOTES: DRAWING OF IMAGE
www.meade.com 626-3233 1-800 Meade Instruments Corp.
